Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share God, Purpose, and Personality
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
God, Purpose, and Personality
Episode 24 – God, Purpose, and Personality
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script Notes:
The Lord is good. He protects those who trust him in times of trouble. But like a roaring flood, the Lord chases his enemies into dark places and destroys them. So don't plot against the Lord! He wipes out his enemies, and they never revive.”
Nahum, Chapter 1, verses 7 through 9, Contemporary English Version
You will please the Lord; your country will be his bride. Your people will take the land, just as a young man takes a bride. The Lord will be pleased because of you, just as a husband is pleased with his bride.
Isaiah, Chapter 62, verses 4 through 5, Contemporary English Version
My dear friends, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you to be his people.
1 Thessalonians, Chapter 1, verse 4, Contemporary English Version
********
VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with Crystal Sea’s founder and the author of The Prodigal’s Advocate, RD Fierro. Today on Anchored by Truth we are going to continue our discussion for how we can be sure that the God of the Bible exists. To help us get going in our discussions we are using some extracts from Crystal Sea’s upcoming audio book version of The Prodigal’s Advocate. RD, why don’t you tell us a little bit more about The Prodigal’s Advocate?
RD: Well as a brief review, Prodigal’s Advocate is a fictional adventure that follows a man in his mid-thirties – the Prodigal - through a series of experiences he has following his death in a tragic accident. The Prodigal goes to a massive stadium-style amphitheater where he finds himself in a crowd of people all of whom are waiting to be called to face judgment. The judge that everyone is going to face is called the One Without Shadow which is an allusion to the Apostle James description of God in James 1:17. In that verse James tells us that God is Father of Lights and never casts shadows by changing.
VK: Or in other words God is perfectly good and pure- eternally. And He is the source of everything including the sun and the lights in the heavens. And God’s perfection is so complete there’s no danger or chance that He will ever change.
RD: Exactly. Or said slightly differently God is a perfect Judge so when people are called before Him they may be assured that the judgment He renders will be full, fair, and complete. Naturally – just like on this earth – the people sitting around waiting in the amphitheater hold a wide variety of opinions about what form this judgment will take. So, while the Prodigal is in the amphitheater he has a series of conversations with other people about the various viewpoints that are common in our culture about issues of life, death, and eternity. In the conversations I try to give readers a greatly condensed version of some of the most common arguments both for and against the Christian faith.
VK: And what are we going to hear in today’s clip?
RD: Today we’re going to hear as Maria – the grandmotherly figure we met in one of our earlier clips – starts to help the Prodigal begin to understand the seriousness of the judgment facing him. Just like when we have those conversations in the world today, the Prodigal does not necessarily like the news.
VK: Well, sometimes the kindness thing the doctor can do for the patient is point out the danger of continuing certain habits – before it’s too late. So here’s another excerpt from Crystal Sea’s The Prodigal’s Advocate.
---- Prodigal’s Advocate Extract
VK: So in that scene the Prodigal hears that continuing to reject the Advocate’s help isn’t just a matter of personal preference? That rejecting the help of the only Advocate available - before you stand before a perfectly holy, righteous, and pure Judge - is not only unwise but it poses a very real eternal danger to the person facing judgment.
RD: Yes. And that’s one of the points that James – as well as all of the Apostles - continually make in their writings. We all have fallen short of God’s standards because He doesn’t just require that we’re good in comparison with other people. He requires us to meet His holy standards and since He’s perfect, His standard is perfection. Naturally, none of us have or could achieve that standard but fortunately we don’t have to because when we accept Jesus as our Advocate, God judges us by Jesus’s life and work not our own. It’s an amazing exchange. Jesus takes our sin but God imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us.
VK: And that’s a great lead into today’s continuing discussion about how we can be sure the God of the Bible actually exists. Just about every person who would speak honestly would readily admit that they’re not perfect. But to make that admission means that we recognize that there is a standard against which we’re comparing ourselves. So where did that standard come from?
RD: That’s a great question. It points out that the created universe involves more than just the existence of matter and energy. That matter and energy is organized and ordered. It’s not present in a chaotic or incomprehensible mass or clutter. The order in the universe tells that there was an organizing Mind behind the presence of the order. If there was no organizing Mind all we would expect would be randomness or chaos. But that’s not what we see even in the physical universe. Albert Einstein – who was not a Christian – famously said, “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.” Einstein was recognizing that order requires an Organizer. Design requires a Designer. But, of course, the order and design that we perceive as part of our experience isn’t limited to the physical universe.
VK: Right. Our awareness that there is a standard by which we can see that none of us lives a perfect life tells us that we not only see order and design in the physical universe but we also expect to see it in our communities. We all intrinsically know that there are standards that should govern human behavior. Whether human actually behave that way is another question. But we all intuitively feel that some standards should apply to all of us. And this again is a strong indication that claiming that the universe is self-existent is an inadequate explanation for what we see around us.
RD: Exactly. If someone contends that the universe is self-existent one of the questions we may then ask is whether this self-existent universe is personal or impersonal. I don’t know of anyone who seriously claims that the matter and energy that comprise the physical universe somehow possess a personal nature. As we have been talking about, the dominant explanation for the universe’s origin today, the Big Bang Theory. But the Big Bang Theory coupled with evolution does not look very persuasive when it comes to providing an explanation for the existence of personality in either people or animals for that matter. It’s very hard to see how the random collision of unintelligent and impersonal particles could somehow create order and design much less result in people thinking that there are certain standards that should govern human behavior.
VK: Well, in our last couple of episodes we were examining four possible explanations for the existence of the universe. That everything we see is an illusion, self-created, self-existent, or created by a Creator who is self-existent. Briefly, we saw that the first two of the explanations – that everything we see is an illusion or that it was self-created – contain inescapable logical contradictions so they can’t possibly be true. And then we said that empirical observations of the universe point out that the universe had a beginning in space and time. So that eliminates the third option of the universe being self-existent. If the universe had a beginning in space and time - it means the universe can’t be eternal which is a necessary attribute for anything that is self-existent.
RD: Right. Eliminating the first three possibilities leaves only the fourth possibility – that the universe was created by a self-existent Creator – as a viable explanation. But I also pointed out last time that even though the physical characteristics of the visible universe point out the need for an external, self-existent Creator – that that is only one line of reasoning that points to the necessary existence of the God of the Bible. There are many other lines of reasoning that also support the same conclusion.
VK: Such as the ones that we’ve been talking about today. The presence of order and design in the universe can’t be satisfactorily explained unless there was a Mind that created the design. And the fact that we expect order and reason to govern human behavior shows that we are intuitively aware that the Mind that designed the physical universe had a hand in making us as well.
RD: Yes. Any theory of origins or explanations has to not only explain the physical universe – which is essentially what we were talking about in our last couple of episodes – that theory must also explain the origin of other phenomena which are undeniably present in the universe and part of our daily experience. To be valid an explanation of origins has to account for more than just matter and energy – it must also account for the origin of life, the origin of man – that is a self-aware, purposive, rational, moral being – the origin of sin and despair – and the origin of hope. Accounting for the beginning of the matter in the universe is only the beginning. Any explanation of origins must also account for the existence of order and design – not only in the physical universe but also in the activities of living creatures including people. In other words, it’s not a question of mind or matter – it’s a question of both mind and matter. The universe contains not only evidence of impersonal objects and phenomena, but also the existence of a personal dimension. At a minimum, since human beings are personal creatures, we have to account for where our personal attributes originated.
VK: And that’s one of the reason we opened today with the scriptures from Nahum, Isaiah, and 1 Thessalonians. Each one of those verses, along with a huge number of others in the Bible, tells us that the God of the Bible is a personal God. Nahum tells us that God is good and that part of the expression of His goodness is that he actively pursues His enemies. Isaiah tells us that God takes pleasure in His people, the same kind of pleasure a groom feels for his bride. And Paul tells us in Thessalonians that God loves and in particular loves His people.
Loving, being pleased, and chasing enemies are the actions of a personal Being – not an impersonal force. So the reason we have personal attributes is because God created us in His image. He is a personal Being so He created us to be personal beings.
RD: Precisely. The Bible gives us a very clear explanation for all the things that we see about us. It tells us how the physical universe came into being but it also tells us more than that. The Bible tells us that God is a God of order and design, but even more than that God is a God of purpose. So when God created the universe He created a universe that reflects, albeit only partially, His will, character, and plans. And I think that this gives us another piece of evidence that demonstrates that God is truly the Author and Creator of everything. God is a God of purpose and we see in the behavior of living creatures a reflection of purpose.
VK: Right. So what you’re alluding to is that one of the real weaknesses of any theory that purports to explain the existence of life - absent the intervention of an omnipotent, omniscient Creator – is an explanation for why life would have an reason for perpetuating its own existence. I mean if a self-replicating collection of atoms and molecules had formed, what difference would it make whether the molecules and atoms stayed together? As we have pointed out before on Anchored by Truth, the second law of thermodynamics is the law of entropy or a tendency toward disorder. There are no observable exceptions to this law in the operation of the inanimate physical universe. So, why would this randomly generated collection of minute particles of matter and energy all of a sudden start demonstrating purpose?
RD: Yes. Randomly generated purposiveness is again a complete contradiction. It is inarguable that all higher order animals demonstrate very purposeful behavior. At a minimum they actively seek to eat when they’re hungry, drink when they’re thirsty, and reproduce on defined cycles. Of course, no creature but man could tell you why they do such things which means they do them in response to a form of built in purpose which we usually refer as instinct. But again, how would such an instinct arise out of the continuing random collision of atoms and molecules. I sometimes pose this question during discussions. Is biology just the result of physics and chemistry?
VK: And what kind of responses do you get?
RD: Usually, puzzled looks and then the addition of various qualifiers like how much time has passed since the Big Bang or other factors that don’t really solve the problem. Just posing the question about whether all of the complexity that we see in the biological world can be explained by chemistry and physics reveals the difficulty of the underlying problem. Life – especially human life - is about so much more than just physics and chemistry. And we’re not even talking right now about the truly problematic aspects of human life that I only briefly alluded to earlier – the existence of despair and hope. Right now we’re just thinking about two relatively simple concepts: 1) the physical processes that keep life going in a universe that is often hostile to that life; and 2) some of the simpler attributes of personality. It’s pretty obvious just thinking about these issues points to a cause that possesses the attributes of the God of the Bible.
VK: And if these elements of creation demonstrate the need for a omnipotent, infinite, personal Creator when we get to discussions of trickier issues like sin and hope the problems for an undirected, self-existent universe escalate exponentially. Just as a brief review the physical universe cannot be an illusion or self-created. Those ideas are fatally flawed logically. Empirical observations of the universe are inconsistent with the idea that the universe is eternal or self-existent. So the only remaining explanation is that the universe is created by a self-existent Creator. And the presence of order and design in the physical universe show that the Creator must first have possessed those attributes.
RD: Yes. And – because at a minimum mankind displays personal attributes and behavior the Creator must also have – or still does – possess those attributes. The belief that certain animal species also display personal characteristics only amplifies the magnitude of the basic difficulty with the contention that the universe or life could have arisen without external, intelligent intervention. And of course we’ve only mentioned another entire set of issues that would be associated with a universe without a Creator – the problems of sin, evil, despair, justice, and hope.
VK: But that is what we want to undertake in our next episode of Anchored by Truth. Do you have any final thoughts for today?
RD: We have by no means answered or even touched on all the questions that are associated with explaining the origin of the universe, life, man, etc. It goes without saying that these are questions that can absorb a lifetime of study. The good news is that there have been a lot of books written and there’s a wealth of information on the internet that can help listeners accelerate their own development of an integrated world view that is logical, reasonable, and coherent. I’m confident that those listeners who begin this study will not only find that their own faith in the Bible is reinforced but also that they will be more effective witnesses to their family, friends, and a world that needs truth.
VK: Well, the fact that there are still questions to be asked and answers to be discussed is a great reason for listeners to join us next time. All this sounds like it’s a great time to have a prayer. Since we’re spending some time meditating on we can learn to use logic and reason to increase our understanding of our God – today let’s pray a prayer for the school boards that are so instrumental in the development of our children’s minds.
---- Prayer for School Boards (Ranni)
VK: Next time on Anchored by Truth we’re going to continue our discussion about how we can confident that the God of the Bible actually exists. And because a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics we want to remind listeners that if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us then and we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”
(Bible Quotes from the Contemporary English Version)
Nahum, Chapter 1, verses 7 through 9, Contemporary English Version
Isaiah, Chapter 62, verses 4 through 5, Contemporary English Version
1 Thessalonians, Chapter 1, verse 4, Contemporary English Version
View all episodes
By R.D.Fierro
5
11 ratings
Episode 24 – God, Purpose, and Personality
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script Notes:
The Lord is good. He protects those who trust him in times of trouble. But like a roaring flood, the Lord chases his enemies into dark places and destroys them. So don't plot against the Lord! He wipes out his enemies, and they never revive.”
Nahum, Chapter 1, verses 7 through 9, Contemporary English Version
You will please the Lord; your country will be his bride. Your people will take the land, just as a young man takes a bride. The Lord will be pleased because of you, just as a husband is pleased with his bride.
Isaiah, Chapter 62, verses 4 through 5, Contemporary English Version
My dear friends, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you to be his people.
1 Thessalonians, Chapter 1, verse 4, Contemporary English Version
********
VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with Crystal Sea’s founder and the author of The Prodigal’s Advocate, RD Fierro. Today on Anchored by Truth we are going to continue our discussion for how we can be sure that the God of the Bible exists. To help us get going in our discussions we are using some extracts from Crystal Sea’s upcoming audio book version of The Prodigal’s Advocate. RD, why don’t you tell us a little bit more about The Prodigal’s Advocate?
RD: Well as a brief review, Prodigal’s Advocate is a fictional adventure that follows a man in his mid-thirties – the Prodigal - through a series of experiences he has following his death in a tragic accident. The Prodigal goes to a massive stadium-style amphitheater where he finds himself in a crowd of people all of whom are waiting to be called to face judgment. The judge that everyone is going to face is called the One Without Shadow which is an allusion to the Apostle James description of God in James 1:17. In that verse James tells us that God is Father of Lights and never casts shadows by changing.
VK: Or in other words God is perfectly good and pure- eternally. And He is the source of everything including the sun and the lights in the heavens. And God’s perfection is so complete there’s no danger or chance that He will ever change.
RD: Exactly. Or said slightly differently God is a perfect Judge so when people are called before Him they may be assured that the judgment He renders will be full, fair, and complete. Naturally – just like on this earth – the people sitting around waiting in the amphitheater hold a wide variety of opinions about what form this judgment will take. So, while the Prodigal is in the amphitheater he has a series of conversations with other people about the various viewpoints that are common in our culture about issues of life, death, and eternity. In the conversations I try to give readers a greatly condensed version of some of the most common arguments both for and against the Christian faith.
VK: And what are we going to hear in today’s clip?
RD: Today we’re going to hear as Maria – the grandmotherly figure we met in one of our earlier clips – starts to help the Prodigal begin to understand the seriousness of the judgment facing him. Just like when we have those conversations in the world today, the Prodigal does not necessarily like the news.
VK: Well, sometimes the kindness thing the doctor can do for the patient is point out the danger of continuing certain habits – before it’s too late. So here’s another excerpt from Crystal Sea’s The Prodigal’s Advocate.
---- Prodigal’s Advocate Extract
VK: So in that scene the Prodigal hears that continuing to reject the Advocate’s help isn’t just a matter of personal preference? That rejecting the help of the only Advocate available - before you stand before a perfectly holy, righteous, and pure Judge - is not only unwise but it poses a very real eternal danger to the person facing judgment.
RD: Yes. And that’s one of the points that James – as well as all of the Apostles - continually make in their writings. We all have fallen short of God’s standards because He doesn’t just require that we’re good in comparison with other people. He requires us to meet His holy standards and since He’s perfect, His standard is perfection. Naturally, none of us have or could achieve that standard but fortunately we don’t have to because when we accept Jesus as our Advocate, God judges us by Jesus’s life and work not our own. It’s an amazing exchange. Jesus takes our sin but God imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us.
VK: And that’s a great lead into today’s continuing discussion about how we can be sure the God of the Bible actually exists. Just about every person who would speak honestly would readily admit that they’re not perfect. But to make that admission means that we recognize that there is a standard against which we’re comparing ourselves. So where did that standard come from?
RD: That’s a great question. It points out that the created universe involves more than just the existence of matter and energy. That matter and energy is organized and ordered. It’s not present in a chaotic or incomprehensible mass or clutter. The order in the universe tells that there was an organizing Mind behind the presence of the order. If there was no organizing Mind all we would expect would be randomness or chaos. But that’s not what we see even in the physical universe. Albert Einstein – who was not a Christian – famously said, “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.” Einstein was recognizing that order requires an Organizer. Design requires a Designer. But, of course, the order and design that we perceive as part of our experience isn’t limited to the physical universe.
VK: Right. Our awareness that there is a standard by which we can see that none of us lives a perfect life tells us that we not only see order and design in the physical universe but we also expect to see it in our communities. We all intrinsically know that there are standards that should govern human behavior. Whether human actually behave that way is another question. But we all intuitively feel that some standards should apply to all of us. And this again is a strong indication that claiming that the universe is self-existent is an inadequate explanation for what we see around us.
RD: Exactly. If someone contends that the universe is self-existent one of the questions we may then ask is whether this self-existent universe is personal or impersonal. I don’t know of anyone who seriously claims that the matter and energy that comprise the physical universe somehow possess a personal nature. As we have been talking about, the dominant explanation for the universe’s origin today, the Big Bang Theory. But the Big Bang Theory coupled with evolution does not look very persuasive when it comes to providing an explanation for the existence of personality in either people or animals for that matter. It’s very hard to see how the random collision of unintelligent and impersonal particles could somehow create order and design much less result in people thinking that there are certain standards that should govern human behavior.
VK: Well, in our last couple of episodes we were examining four possible explanations for the existence of the universe. That everything we see is an illusion, self-created, self-existent, or created by a Creator who is self-existent. Briefly, we saw that the first two of the explanations – that everything we see is an illusion or that it was self-created – contain inescapable logical contradictions so they can’t possibly be true. And then we said that empirical observations of the universe point out that the universe had a beginning in space and time. So that eliminates the third option of the universe being self-existent. If the universe had a beginning in space and time - it means the universe can’t be eternal which is a necessary attribute for anything that is self-existent.
RD: Right. Eliminating the first three possibilities leaves only the fourth possibility – that the universe was created by a self-existent Creator – as a viable explanation. But I also pointed out last time that even though the physical characteristics of the visible universe point out the need for an external, self-existent Creator – that that is only one line of reasoning that points to the necessary existence of the God of the Bible. There are many other lines of reasoning that also support the same conclusion.
VK: Such as the ones that we’ve been talking about today. The presence of order and design in the universe can’t be satisfactorily explained unless there was a Mind that created the design. And the fact that we expect order and reason to govern human behavior shows that we are intuitively aware that the Mind that designed the physical universe had a hand in making us as well.
RD: Yes. Any theory of origins or explanations has to not only explain the physical universe – which is essentially what we were talking about in our last couple of episodes – that theory must also explain the origin of other phenomena which are undeniably present in the universe and part of our daily experience. To be valid an explanation of origins has to account for more than just matter and energy – it must also account for the origin of life, the origin of man – that is a self-aware, purposive, rational, moral being – the origin of sin and despair – and the origin of hope. Accounting for the beginning of the matter in the universe is only the beginning. Any explanation of origins must also account for the existence of order and design – not only in the physical universe but also in the activities of living creatures including people. In other words, it’s not a question of mind or matter – it’s a question of both mind and matter. The universe contains not only evidence of impersonal objects and phenomena, but also the existence of a personal dimension. At a minimum, since human beings are personal creatures, we have to account for where our personal attributes originated.
VK: And that’s one of the reason we opened today with the scriptures from Nahum, Isaiah, and 1 Thessalonians. Each one of those verses, along with a huge number of others in the Bible, tells us that the God of the Bible is a personal God. Nahum tells us that God is good and that part of the expression of His goodness is that he actively pursues His enemies. Isaiah tells us that God takes pleasure in His people, the same kind of pleasure a groom feels for his bride. And Paul tells us in Thessalonians that God loves and in particular loves His people.
Loving, being pleased, and chasing enemies are the actions of a personal Being – not an impersonal force. So the reason we have personal attributes is because God created us in His image. He is a personal Being so He created us to be personal beings.
RD: Precisely. The Bible gives us a very clear explanation for all the things that we see about us. It tells us how the physical universe came into being but it also tells us more than that. The Bible tells us that God is a God of order and design, but even more than that God is a God of purpose. So when God created the universe He created a universe that reflects, albeit only partially, His will, character, and plans. And I think that this gives us another piece of evidence that demonstrates that God is truly the Author and Creator of everything. God is a God of purpose and we see in the behavior of living creatures a reflection of purpose.
VK: Right. So what you’re alluding to is that one of the real weaknesses of any theory that purports to explain the existence of life - absent the intervention of an omnipotent, omniscient Creator – is an explanation for why life would have an reason for perpetuating its own existence. I mean if a self-replicating collection of atoms and molecules had formed, what difference would it make whether the molecules and atoms stayed together? As we have pointed out before on Anchored by Truth, the second law of thermodynamics is the law of entropy or a tendency toward disorder. There are no observable exceptions to this law in the operation of the inanimate physical universe. So, why would this randomly generated collection of minute particles of matter and energy all of a sudden start demonstrating purpose?
RD: Yes. Randomly generated purposiveness is again a complete contradiction. It is inarguable that all higher order animals demonstrate very purposeful behavior. At a minimum they actively seek to eat when they’re hungry, drink when they’re thirsty, and reproduce on defined cycles. Of course, no creature but man could tell you why they do such things which means they do them in response to a form of built in purpose which we usually refer as instinct. But again, how would such an instinct arise out of the continuing random collision of atoms and molecules. I sometimes pose this question during discussions. Is biology just the result of physics and chemistry?
VK: And what kind of responses do you get?
RD: Usually, puzzled looks and then the addition of various qualifiers like how much time has passed since the Big Bang or other factors that don’t really solve the problem. Just posing the question about whether all of the complexity that we see in the biological world can be explained by chemistry and physics reveals the difficulty of the underlying problem. Life – especially human life - is about so much more than just physics and chemistry. And we’re not even talking right now about the truly problematic aspects of human life that I only briefly alluded to earlier – the existence of despair and hope. Right now we’re just thinking about two relatively simple concepts: 1) the physical processes that keep life going in a universe that is often hostile to that life; and 2) some of the simpler attributes of personality. It’s pretty obvious just thinking about these issues points to a cause that possesses the attributes of the God of the Bible.
VK: And if these elements of creation demonstrate the need for a omnipotent, infinite, personal Creator when we get to discussions of trickier issues like sin and hope the problems for an undirected, self-existent universe escalate exponentially. Just as a brief review the physical universe cannot be an illusion or self-created. Those ideas are fatally flawed logically. Empirical observations of the universe are inconsistent with the idea that the universe is eternal or self-existent. So the only remaining explanation is that the universe is created by a self-existent Creator. And the presence of order and design in the physical universe show that the Creator must first have possessed those attributes.
RD: Yes. And – because at a minimum mankind displays personal attributes and behavior the Creator must also have – or still does – possess those attributes. The belief that certain animal species also display personal characteristics only amplifies the magnitude of the basic difficulty with the contention that the universe or life could have arisen without external, intelligent intervention. And of course we’ve only mentioned another entire set of issues that would be associated with a universe without a Creator – the problems of sin, evil, despair, justice, and hope.
VK: But that is what we want to undertake in our next episode of Anchored by Truth. Do you have any final thoughts for today?
RD: We have by no means answered or even touched on all the questions that are associated with explaining the origin of the universe, life, man, etc. It goes without saying that these are questions that can absorb a lifetime of study. The good news is that there have been a lot of books written and there’s a wealth of information on the internet that can help listeners accelerate their own development of an integrated world view that is logical, reasonable, and coherent. I’m confident that those listeners who begin this study will not only find that their own faith in the Bible is reinforced but also that they will be more effective witnesses to their family, friends, and a world that needs truth.
VK: Well, the fact that there are still questions to be asked and answers to be discussed is a great reason for listeners to join us next time. All this sounds like it’s a great time to have a prayer. Since we’re spending some time meditating on we can learn to use logic and reason to increase our understanding of our God – today let’s pray a prayer for the school boards that are so instrumental in the development of our children’s minds.
---- Prayer for School Boards (Ranni)
VK: Next time on Anchored by Truth we’re going to continue our discussion about how we can confident that the God of the Bible actually exists. And because a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics we want to remind listeners that if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us then and we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”
(Bible Quotes from the Contemporary English Version)
Nahum, Chapter 1, verses 7 through 9, Contemporary English Version
Isaiah, Chapter 62, verses 4 through 5, Contemporary English Version
1 Thessalonians, Chapter 1, verse 4, Contemporary English Version